A.J. Pierzynski (12) reaches behind the backstop to try to catch a foul ball and almost crashes into former president George W. Bush in the sixth inning at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Texas, Monday, May 23, 2011. The Texas Rangers defeated the Chicago White Sox, 4-0. (Sharon Ellman/Fort Worth Star-Telegram/MCT)

Chicago White Sox catcher and Dr. Phillips alum A.J. Pierzynski almost had an intimate moment with former President George Bush Monday.

In the sixth inning of a game between the White Sox and Texas Rangers, Pierzynski chased down a foul ball behind the screen and almost landed in the lap of George Bush, who was sitting next to his wife Laura Bush.

“I just told him just because he was the President doesn’t mean I won’t jump on top of him,” A.J. Pierzynski told reporters at the game. “Him and his wife got a good chuckle out of that one.”

We have our first media blow-up, therefore, baseball season has officially started.

St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa barked at media members for their line of questioning about the Cardinals’ early struggles with offense. The Cardinals lost a 3-1 contest to the Pittsburgh Pirates dropping their overall record to 2-4.

Check around the 3:35 mark to watch La Russa’s rant.

“For everybody listening out there, you think I’m being unreasonable? It’s the first week of the season. I mean you guys are…I don’t understand this. Are you going to tell me Yadier doesn’t drive in big runs? Are you going to tell me Albert can’t hit? Are you going to tell me the second baseman and shortstops haven’t hit? David Freese? You don’t think he’s going to hit? You think Matt’s gonna to hit? You think Colby’s going to hit? You think Berkman’s going to hit? The answer is ‘no’ to all those things?’

“Did you accomplish your goal? Three, four times, you ask so I get excited and get upset? That’s not fair. It really isn’t.”

La Russa’s “it’s not fair” argument sounds juvenile. But in slight, and I mean very slight, defense of his tantrum, it is too early in the season to identify whether or not a team is “struggling.”

Matt and Taylor. Such a great pair of names for an adorable couple. That is…until you watch the video clip below.

The couple took in a Texas Rangers-Seattle Mariners game one night before their pending wedding at the ballpark. A Fox Sports Southwest reporter, Jim Knox, attempted to get a fun interview with the cutesy couple, but got more than he bargained for when Matt made a startling comment.

Knox – “You guys are getting married at the ballpark tomorrow morning. Matt, how does it feel?

Matt – “Uh, it’s gonna be the worst day of my life.”

Knox – “Really? Wow, uh, you’re gonna get some good remarks [sic?] for that one. Why the ballpark, Taylor?

Braves manager Luis Salazar was injured after being hit in the face with a line drive.

Luis Salazar, a manager for the Atlanta Braves’ minor league team, is recovering at Orlando Regional Medical Center after he was hit in the face by a line drive during an exhibition game in Kissimmee according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution. He was airlifted to Orlando Regional Medical Center.

Braves catcher Brian McCann hit a line drive in the first inning and it inadvertently hit Luis Salazar who was standing in the dugout at Champion Stadium. Reports say he was unconscious for at least 20 minutes and some players initially were concerned he was dead.

Brian McCann was so emotionally shaken that he could not continue playing.

According to the Journal-Constitution, “Luis Salazar has multiple facial fractures and possible damage to his left eye, but doctors have ruled out brain damage. Salazar was able to answer doctors’ questions and was resting Wednesday night at Orlando Regional Medical Center, accompanied by his wife, Graciela, son Carlos, and by McCann.”

Braves public relations manager Brad Hainje informed us Luis Salazar will undergo surgery near his cheekbone area sometime Thursday. The Braves are scheduled to play St. Louis again at 1 p.m.

The Yankees press conference in Apopka resulted in the major announcement of, wait for it, wait for it….

A one day New York Yankees youth baseball clinic at the Northwest Recreation Center in Apopka Feb. 26. A Yankees spokesperson could not confirm which Yankees players and coaches would participate in the event. The event is free.

Parents can register kids for the camp at basesloadedorlando.com. Armando Gutierrez Jr., Baseball Enterprises LLC President, said he hopes the event will draw “thousands” at the press conference Wednesday afternoon in Apopka.

While the event was staged to promote news about the free baseball clinic, inquiring minds wanted to know about the potential Tampa Yankees relocation to Orlando.

Florida State Representative Bryan Nelson, an Apopka native, and longtime Apopka mayor John Land would love to see the “Apopka Yankees” somewhere on the 180-plus acres lot at the Northwest Recreation Complex. Gutierrez said Apopka was a potential relocation option, but the distance from International Drive (his No. 1 choice) could be a game-killer. Tourists would have to drive more than 25 miles to reach the complex.

The business group working to move the New York Yankees’ minor league baseball team, the Tampa Yankees, to Orlando is holding a press conference tomorrow in Apopka to make a special announcement.

Armando Gutierrez Jr. said he and his business partners will announce plans about a special “once in a lifetime experience” event this February for families, little league players and Central Florida baseball enthusiasts.

“The event is usually not even done outside of New York ,” said a tight-lipped Gutierrez. “But it’s going to be in Central in February for a day.”

Perhaps more interesting is the fact that Apopka could be a new location option. The primary location, a piece of land near the Orange County Convention Center, hit a snag after former Orlando County mayor Richard Crotty raised concerns about Gutierrez’s project outlines. New Orlando County mayor Teresa Jacobs told the Orlando Sentinel in November that she would comment on the proposal until she had time to study it.

Gutierrez said he would not confirm or deny Apopka as a possible location for a minor league baseball team in a telephone interview Tuesday afternoon. But he said plans were moving slow.

“So far so good,” he said. “We’re just waiting on when we can make a formal presentation to [Jacobs] now that she’s hiring for people.”

Check back on Sentinel Sports Now for details on the announcement tomorrow.

The Eckstein family can certainly appreciate this philosophy. Kidney donation has become an unfortunate family pastime for the Ecksteins, who reside in Sanford, FL. Washington Nationals hitting coach Rick Eckstein donated a kidney to his older brother, Ken, Dec. 8. He is just the latest to give a kidney in a family plagued by glomerulonephritis, a rare kidney disease that leads to renal failure.

Out of five siblings, just two brothers have been spared from the disease — Rick and younger brother David Eckstein, a two-time World Series champion. The family’s patriarch, Whitey, also has the disease. Orlando Sentinel reporter Josh Robbins wrote a beautiful story about this family’s fight in 2008.

“At a young age, I felt like I had a responsibility to use my gifts, to use my talents, to work hard because I was given the ability to go out to the baseball field everyday, which my brothers and sisters weren’t,” Rick Eckstein told the Sentinel Thursday. “As I got older, I’ve turned it into, ‘well maybe I wasn’t supposed to be ill, maybe I was supposed to take care of my body so I could donate one day. And so that to me that’s a level of responsibility that I was blessed with having good health.”

Brother Ken Eckstein is grateful for his brother’s donation, “I got the healthiest kidney in the world. I’m not sure it’s going to know what to do in my body,” he joked.

Check out video from the brothers media event Wednesday at Florida Hospital in Orlando. Definitely makes you appreciate the little things we take for granted everyday.